Tag Archives: listening

I decided it was perfect for my musings today. I am typing this as I go, after thinking about the theme a lot, after going to Lakes Park and sitting in my power spot. Here goes…second last post!

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Moving toward 2016, I understand my life is going to be more and more about sound. How the world sounds. How I sound. How we sound to each other.

Walking in the park today, I was behind two people who both had ear buds in, yet were talking loudly to each other. They obviously were listening to something, but decided it was important to communicate. But here was my thought: If we really want to hear each other, we should be cognizant of shutting out other noise. It is like the people who talk on the phone when the television is on. Why?

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This year has opened me up to sound. I planned a whole vacation around sound. We heard bluegrass music and blues music and synthesized music and musicians talking about the sounds specific instruments make, the sound of Jim and I singing together in the music booth at the Birthplace of Country Music, the sound of the Flint, the Cumberland, and the French Broad Rivers, the sound of old blues musicians wafting across Dockery Farms, the sound of The City of New Orleans speeding next to Money Road in the Delta. These sounds have stayed with me and I call on them from time to time.

Today as I walked I brushed my hand through all the palm fronds I passed. “How can I duplicate that sound” was my constant question.

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Paul Simon had an exhibit on his songwriting at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. I was unable to get there, so I purchased the exhibit booklet. In it is Simon’s speech when he was inducted into the Rock Hall. He said:

This stood out to me for many reasons. First, because “Mystery Train” is my favorite Elvis tune, mostly because of the way it sounds. And second, because this came late in the book and I had already read Simon’s words over and over again about trying to get to a sound. The exhibit was called “Words and Music,” but from what I read it was really about sound.

As I stay tuned to the sounds in my life, I am looking to get them into any music I create. My music teacher talked mainly about sound when I told him I wanted to write songs. Silly me — I thought it was about lyrics. Seems that isn’t always the case.

Not sure why I’m just learning that.

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A friend of mine posted this meme on Facebook:

We are the music we love. I want to do this experiment. Tell me the song that matters most to you, and I will listen for you in it.

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Years ago I heard that our DNA, when related to various musical notes, creates a different musical composition for every person. This idea has never left me, and continues to intrigue. Today I found there is a website for it (of course there is) where you can actually send in your DNA information and the type of music you like, and they will create the composition for you. Here is a future birthday present!

They have created songs for all kinds of things, including this one for whales:

So, yes, sound is in our very DNA.

With sound comes vibration. This is why crystal bowl meditation and bells during ritual services and chanting monks lift us to new dimensions. Sounds and vibrations are our lifeblood. They can heal or poison.

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As I finish up this blog, my plan is to stay tuned to the Five Questions in my life. They have truly become a part of me during this journey, and now I cannot imagine living life without seeing it through the lens of the Five Questions. Not writing about it will free me up to be in the moment, to search for the sound in the message, to stay tuned to doing the next right thing. All year long I have been listening, and this message comes to me continually like a drumbeat.

Every week I draw a random card from my Creative Whack Pack. Last week I was to “flex my risk muscle.” Can’t say I did that at all. This week it tells me “Listen to your dreams.”

I thought about this when I woke up this morning, and I recalled something that was in my dream. It was the Ohio River.

A couple of summers ago we spent some time in Rising Sun, Indiana, which is on the Ohio. At the time the water was very high and muddy from extensive rains. The whether was extremely humid while we there–much more humid than it feels in Florida, believe it or not.

I am not sure why I was dreaming of the Ohio. My “go-to” river is the New River in Ashe County, North Carolina. When I am at yoga or meditating or just want a few minutes of quiet, I take myself there in my mind. The river winds through the Blue Ridge and winds through my soul. For about 13 years it was our home away from home, staying in a beautiful mountain cabin. I miss it desperately, but is no longer a part of my life.

Why I dreamed of the Ohio, I don’t know. A dream website says this is the meaning of a river in your dream:

To see a river in your dream, specify that you are just going with the flow of life. You are actually permitting your life to flow to the wind and directions. It also indicates that you need to take some important decisions to shape your life. Along with this river also symbolize pleasures, peace and riches.